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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22591036">I won't go (until you come outside)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/paperjamBipper/pseuds/paperjamBipper'>paperjamBipper</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Infinity Train (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Established Relationship, F/M, Post-Canon, Songfic, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Walks In The Woods</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 13:42:37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,689</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22591036</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/paperjamBipper/pseuds/paperjamBipper</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Lake finally chalks it up to tell Jesse what happened on the train when they were forcibly separated.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jesse/Lake</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>182</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>I won't go (until you come outside)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Even though I tagged this as a songfic, it's more inspired by it than directly set to it. <i>Check Yes, Juliet</i> by We The Kings is a cute song and the theme of running away together and never looking back fits these two pretty well.</p><p>Also, I thought it would be pretty cute if Lake gave him a nickname. She calls him "Jess" because it sounds cute and I said so.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Normal.</p><p>Her entire life, Lake never had any proper definition for the word. Her entire life, all of her decisions had been made for her. What she’s allowed to wear, where she’s allowed to go, when she’s allowed to sleep, when she’s allowed to eat. Sure, Tulip may have been a pretty average person for the <em>most </em>part, but it wasn’t <em>normal. </em>Forcing herself to stay up until 4:30 in the morning so Tulip can fix the bug in her code or wearing those pointless chrome glasses or eating those stupid onions she didn’t even <em>like </em>wasn’t normal. </p><p>Living someone else’s life wasn’t normal. </p><p>She’s lucky Tulip was so understanding. Well, Lake supposes she had to be, since up until that point they had essentially been two different copies of the same person. But she didn’t feel that way. She felt and still feels and will never stop feeling like she is her own individual person. And the moment she took her first step out of the “Chrome Car”, as Tulip had called it, she was sure that was the end of it. She could be whoever she wanted to be, go wherever she wanted to go, wear whatever she wanted to wear. </p><p>But of course the Flecs had to develop new software that allowed them to chase escapees from car to car. If she had known about <em>that </em>she would’ve stolen it to escape the car years ago. Not that it mattered much anyway, because as long as they weren’t trailing directly behind her then the only way they’d be able to find her was through some random reflective surface that happened to be lying around, which was a surprisingly difficult find in a good majority of the cars she’d been through.</p><p>And for months at a time, she was convinced she’d found her normal. Most cars she only passed through, but other cars, those that provided beds and food and something to drink (just as long as it wasn’t water), she’d stay in those for weeks at a time. She felt grass under her feet for the first time in a train car, she saw a real life tree in a train car, and she even experienced rainfall in a train car. And as far as she was concerned, she had the best life she could ever imagine. She never considered herself a “denizen”, because she never wanted to live her life in someone else’s shadow ever again. And if that meant self-isolation, then so be it. She didn’t need companionship, because all companionship did was slow her down.</p><p>But then Jesse came along. </p><p>And so went her definition of normal.</p><p>She had tried to separate herself from him. She had tried to wave him off, tried to take Alan Dracula as her only companion and go. But in the end, nothing she tried ever worked. </p><p>He saw something in her that nobody else did.</p><p>She knew he had an opportunity to turn her over to the Flecs. She knew he considered it. But he chose not to. He stood up for her in a way nobody had since Tulip freed her. He liked her for <em>her, </em>not just as someone helping him escape the train but as her <em>own person. </em></p><p>She had never even considered the possibility of leaving the train until she met him. But it was all the time she spent with him that she realized that when she’d escaped from the mirror realm that all she’d fled to was an even larger prison. </p><p>He was the only person who’d ever promised not to leave her behind. <em>Tulip </em>couldn’t even make that promise. He never showed any signs that he’d been lying, never gave her a goodbye. He developed the habit of taking her hand in his own to assure she was still by his side, and Lake in turn developed the habit of giving his hand a squeeze to assure him that she wasn’t going anywhere. He grabbed her hand every time they fled from the Flecs, or every time a door opened, and it grew to become a comforting gesture for Lake. </p><p>He never let go. Even when they were forced apart at his exit door, he never let go. Their hands were interlocked until the moment he faded away into nothing, and <em>even then </em>he broke the very physics of the train itself by refusing to let go, refusing to leave until she was able to come with him. All the time she had spent fighting for him, she had no idea he was on the other side fighting for her as well.</p><p>
  <em>She’s M.T, she can take care of herself, but I made a promise.</em>
</p><p>They finally got their exit together. And it was staring into her own reflection in that lake, and feeling that sunshine on her face, and Jesse’s hand on her shoulder that made her realize she had finally, <em>finally </em>found her real normal. </p><p>Nothing could compare to the euphoria she felt when they were walking back to Jesse’s house. She could hear <em>birds, </em>actual <em>birds, </em>not weird talking parakeets that needed her help to build their giant nest, or something, <em>actual birds! </em>And the <em>wind, </em>and the <em>traffic, </em>and the sky was an <em>actual </em>color, not that depressing shade of brownish-orange it always was on the train. It’s a miracle they ever got to Jesse’s house at all with Lake stopping to check something out every ten seconds. Not that Jesse minded at <em>all, </em>because there had been multiple times where Lake had caught him staring at her with an affectionate twinkle in his eyes.</p><p>After that initial adrenaline rush faded, everything slowed to a peaceful calm. Jesse convinced his mom to convert their guest room into Lake’s room “until further notice”, which she quickly settled into. She registered as a new student at the local high school online, and choosing classes was just a combination of what she’d already known from Tulip and what simply caught her eye.</p><p>Everything fell into a pattern. And for once in her life, she was <em>happy </em>with that.</p><p>Wake up, go to school, eat lunch, come home, hang with Jesse, explore the neighborhood, do homework, watch movies, go to bed. It’s simple, it’s repetitive, it’s <em>home. </em>The only thing that ever differs in her schedule other than weekends is when she’d have to take the bus home without Jesse when he had swim practice, but admittedly it was nice to have that time to herself. </p><p>Take right now, for example. She’s just lying on her bed with her hands behind her head watching her ceiling fan swirl around. She likes to be alone with her thoughts, contrary to popular belief, because they really tend to keep her in the moment. Having her own complex thoughts validates her and tells her that she’s here, and she’s her own human being.</p><p>...Until there’s a light tap against her window, which doesn’t make sense because her room is on the second floor. She stands up to investigate, and she’s ready to dismiss it as a bird or a bug that must’ve bumped into it when a number of tiny pebbles tap against the window again. Baffled, she opens the window to look and see who could possibly be throwing rocks at her window. </p><p>“That worked?” She can hear Jesse exclaim, but he clears his throat when he realizes she probably heard that. “Lake! Down here!”</p><p>She snorts, leaning her elbow against the windowsill. “Hi Jesse” she shouts back, and looks over her shoulder at the clock sitting on her nightstand reading <em>8:46pm. </em>“I thought you had swim practice”</p><p>“I did! It just ran later than usual because competition is coming up soon” he shouts back, and runs a hand through his hair to expel any extra water as if he’s trying to prove to her that he’s not lying. “You should, uh, you should come outside! It’s really nice out. I’m not even shivering”</p><p>Lake smirks, rolling her eyes at him. “And you wanted to ask me that by shouting up at my window? Isn’t this your house?”</p><p>She can practically <em>see </em>Jesse blush from where she sits at her window. “Well, yeah, but I wanted to look cool! Tossing rocks at someone’s window is like, the most romantic gesture ever” </p><p>Lake laughs. “I’m <em>swooning”, </em>she teases, dramatically bringing her wrist to her forehead.</p><p>Jesse shoves his hands in his pocket and glances to the ground, a sure sign he’s probably blushing even harder. “It’s a serious offer, you know!” he mumbles just loud enough for her to hear. “It’s beautiful out.” He offers his hand out to her, and the gesture makes her blush.</p><p>“Alright, alright, I’m coming”, she replies in mock annoyance, warmth in her tone giving her true nature away. She slides her window the rest of the way open, climbs onto the windowsill, and wiggles around until she’s hanging out of the window by her hands. Once her arms stop shaking from holding her own weight up, she lets go and lands on her feet. She turns around to face Jesse, and throws her arms up in the air in a victorious pose.</p><p>He smiles. “You could’ve just gone out the front door, y’know. Mom isn’t that strict about us leaving the house”.</p><p>She shrugs. “Yeah, but it’s like you said. I wanted to look cool”.</p><p>This time Jesse’s the one laughing, and he offers his hand out to her again. “Well?” </p><p>She blushes. <em>Dammit, he shouldn’t be this cute, </em>and intertwines her hand in his. “Well what? You’re the one who called me out here, you dork”</p><p>“Well, where do you wanna go?” he rubs at the back of his head. “The ice cream parlor closes in ten minutes, so I don’t think we could get there even if Mom let me borrow her car”. </p><p>Lake laughs. “How romantic, borrowing your Mom’s car for me” she teases. “Who says we have to go anywhere in particular? You said it yourself. It’s a beautiful night. Why don’t we just go for a walk?”</p><p>Jesse gasps, his eyes twinkling. “Travel friends?”</p><p>Lake rolls her eyes and leans in to kiss Jesse on the cheek. “I think we’re a little more than that by now, Jess.”</p><p>Jesse grins. “I know. It’s just a catchy song”.</p><p>“Nerd.”</p><p>Jesse shrugs in a what-are-you-gonna-do-about-it sort of manner before he taps at his chin to think about where they could possibly go. “Well…” he starts. “I think there should be a nature trail near that lake we ended up at, and I think….people are known to occasionally spot a family deer over there, you wanna walk around there a bit?” he pauses. “Or is that too familiar?”</p><p>Lake gives his hand a little squeeze. “Pssh, nah, that sounds perfect. You know how I am with exploring”.</p><p>He’s looking at her with that soft, affectionate look in his eyes again, and gives her hand a squeeze back. “Perfect.” he says, and begins to lead the way, but it isn’t long before they’re walking side by side. The walk to the lake isn’t as long as she remembers it  being, but she supposes she could chalk that up to the adrenaline she’d felt the first time she was here. Once there, she stops to look at her reflection in the lake, and this time Jesse’s is standing beside her. He takes his hand from her, only to wind his arm around her shoulder and give <em>her </em>a kiss on the cheek. She rolls her eyes at him, but just before he can turn his head away from her she quickly leans in and gets him on the lips. </p><p>“C’mon,” she gestures. “We could be here all night”. </p><p>He blushes violently. “Right, right…” he murmurs, and leads the way to the entrance of the nature trail. It’s larger than Lake was expecting, apparently looping all the way around the back end of the cul de sac and back to the lake. She doesn’t know <em>what </em>Jesse could’ve possibly meant by calling the trail “too familiar”, because it’s nothing in comparison even to the Forest Car where they met. Everything <em>feels </em>real, everything <em>smells </em>real, everything just <em>is </em>real. She could never get her boots muddy or dirty in that or any other car on that godforsaken train because they couldn’t even program <em>mud </em>properly. </p><p>“You okay?” Jesse asks after a few moments, startling her out of her thoughts. </p><p>“Huh? Why do you ask?” </p><p>Jesse blushes, awkwardly rubbing at the back of his head. “Well, you weren’t saying anything, and I was gonna assume you were just enjoying yourself, but you were kinda….staring off into space. So I figured I’d ask. No big deal”</p><p>Lake shrugs. “Nah, it’s okay. Thanks for asking. I’m fine, I’ve just been...well, thinking about the train”.</p><p>Jesse stops in his tracks. “You have?”</p><p>Lake shakes her head, and shakes her hand around in self-defense. “It’s no big deal, really, I’m just...really glad to be as far away from that thing as possible”. </p><p>Jesse steps forward and sits down on a fallen tree in the middle of the path, patting at the spot beside him to invite her to sit next to him. “It sounds like a pretty big deal to me”. </p><p>She smiles, a blush tinting her cheeks, and takes the seat beside him. “It doesn’t bother me anymore, trust me” she folds her hands together. “I’m getting much better at looking into reflective surfaces, and I don’t get snappish at people who look at me funny as often as I used to.” She turns to look at him. “But I just can’t stop thinking about how ever since I got <em>here </em>with <em>you </em>I’m realizing how much of a living <em>hell </em>that train was” </p><p>She turns her gaze up towards the treetops. “I don’t think I ever told you what it was like when you were forced to leave without me.” She brings her knees up to her chest. “It was <em>awful. </em>I was so afraid I was never going to see you again. Everyone was saying it was pointless, that you would move on without me, that I was never getting off the train, I wasn’t my own person, blah blah blah” she dismissively waves a hand in the air.</p><p>“But you came <em>back </em>for me, Jesse, because you <em>cared </em>about me. Nobody’s ever come back in the history of the train, not for me, not for anything.” She laughs, and punches him in the arm as lightly as she can. “You gave the train a <em>mental breakdown. </em>You gave it the very problem it’s programmed to fix in everyone <em>else, </em>all because…what?”</p><p>Jesse smiles. “I made a promise.”</p><p>“Exactly!” Lake exclaims. “You made a promise you were <em>so </em>heartbroken to break just because you wanted to be able to see me every day.” She looks down at the forest floor. “...just so I could experience mud, and twigs, and all these things you don’t even <em>notice </em>because you’ve just <em>had them </em>your entire life”. </p><p>Jesse snorts. “Well I’d sure hate for my girlfriend to miss out on the amazing wonders of <em>mud.”</em></p><p>“You know what I mean”. </p><p>“I know” Jesse smiles, kicking his feet back and forth. “I just...couldn’t go home until I knew you were coming with me. Flecs or no Flecs, I could tell you seemed pretty miserable”.</p><p>Now <em>Lake </em>finds herself blushing violently. “That’s….incredibly sweet of you”. </p><p>Jesse hums. “Not as incredible as you”. </p><p>Lake snorts. “Dork”. </p><p>Jesse stands up from the fallen tree, brushing his pant legs off and offering Lake his hand to help her up. “Ah ah, <em>your </em>dork”. </p><p>She takes him up on that offer, intertwining his hand in her own as she stands. “You won’t be for long if you keep that up”. </p><p>Jesse blushes. “Sorry.” </p><p>Lake laughs, and brings a hand to Jesse’s face and turns it towards her to make him look at her. “Jess, I’m kidding” she says, and kisses him softly on the lips. “I love you too”.  </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>
  <i>Run baby run,</i>
</p><p>  <i>Don't ever look back</i></p><p> <i>They'll tear us apart if you give them the chance</i></p><p>  <i>Don't sell your heart</i></p><p>  <i>Don't say we're not meant to be</i></p><p>  <i>Run baby, run</i></p><p>   <i>Forever will be you and me.</i></p></blockquote></div></div>
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